California Native Plants

This California native plant garden located in Menlo Park, California, and designed by L. A. Peluso Designs, has turned into a peaceful, park-like setting and features many favorites, such as Sunset Manzanita, Deer Grass, Salvia clevelandii, and Stickey Monkey.

The garden above was created as a private test garden in San Jose, California, and features California native plants in a wild, naturalistic design, according to the client’s wishes. Featured in the photo from left to right are Ceanothus ‘Yankee Point,’ Western Redbud, California Wild Rose,* and Ceanothus ‘Dark Star.’

There was no tilling or soil preparation for this site (other than weed clearing), and no fertilizers were added to the soil prior to or after planting in the late spring of 2010.

Planting holes were dug no larger than the plant containers to encourage the roots to grow through native clay soil. During planting, no attempt was made to loosen the soil around the rootballs and the soil surrounding the rootballs was not disturbed except to briefly and lightly brush the soil with gloved hands. Six inches of redwood mulch was added to the site to suppress weeds and retain moisture. Surprisingly, the mulch has not needed replenishing!

Immediately after planting, each plant was watered in for approximately 15-20 minutes, thoroughly and deeply saturating the rootball and surrounding area. Following the initial watering (during their first summer), plants were watered every few days if needed, tapering off to watering twice a week in the cooler weather of fall, at which time plants were watered once a week until winter rains arrived consistently enough to rely upon. Since the plants’ first year in the garden, there has been no supplemental irrigation to this site! Pruning and weeding is performed just twice a year, making this garden fairly low maintenance. Weeds are hand-pulled to avoid the use of pesticides which would harm the environment and creatures (including humans) enjoying it.

Amazingly, these plants bloom beautifully and reliably each spring. Native butterflies, birds, and lizards are happy in this habitat and iridescent native bees frequent the garden. Photos were taken in the Spring of 2017.

*California Wild Rose (Rosa californica) can be utilized as a barrier to intruders as it spreads freely by runners when happily situated, forming a dense thicket over time if left unchecked, so plant with caution!

In this landscape design, I encouraged my clients to take advantage of a lawn landscape rebate program and the result was an extra living room in the front yard! The lawn made way for a meandering path and seating area beneath some mature trees.

Although the landscape rebate program has been suspended due to the funding cap being reached, many incentives to replace lawn with less water-thirsty alternatives remain, including the satisfaction of knowing you are doing your part to reduce water usage and the consequentially making it easier to meet your state mandated water reduction target each month.

Below is a photograph of the yard shortly after installation.

The primary plant used to replace the lawn and create a similar low-level visual plane is drought-tolerant groundcover is Dwarf Plumbago (Cerastostigma plumbaginoides) which is filling in nicely approximately a year later (below). We created a cozy reading alcove for two under an existing red maple.

An existing Mexican Feather Grass (Stipa tenuissima), although lovely, is considered invasive (UC Master Gardener Program Statewide Blog), so it was replaced with Lamb’s Ears for a completely different contrast with the existing Japanese Maple (L-R: before and after seen below).

Rosa Cl. Cecille Brunner (Sweetheart’s Rose, Climbing Cecille Brunner), which is actually a low-water user once established, compliments the existing Lady Emma Hamilton rose and brings a similar color to another part of the yard’s side fence (close-up below).

The fragrance from the salvias in this part of the garden can be enjoyed through the kitchen and dining windows, as well as from within the garden itself.

The added fragrance and seating areas entice the client out to the garden. In addition to using much less water than before, both the front and back yard have increased visual interest now that the lawn is gone. The client is out there more and enjoying their new living space!

Tired of planting the “same-o, same-o flowers” for fall color? Mums are wonderful, it’s true, but how about a less thirsty change of pace? Try these California Native plants needing less water:

Helianthus annuus (Delta Sunflower or Common Sunflower)

Eriogonum giganteum (St. Catherine’s Lace) in the spring with a happy bee! And, below in the fall, a close-up of this buckwheat’s back side and rusty fall color. It turns pinkish in-between! I’ll have to remember to add that photo next year.